Savage Betrayal
by MyBatBoys
Summary: When a hero goes missing, a rescue mission goes horribly wrong. Characters: Nightwing, Green Arrow, Speedy and Red Arrow
1. Chapter 1

_**Prologue**_

A small black aircraft cut through the sky; its sleek, aerodynamic form cloaked from radars of other aircrafts in the area as it followed the coastline north. Its pilot was currently engaged in a battle of wills with a very frustrating colleague who was intent on arguing his point no matter how many times Nightwing took the time to explain the need for stealth and caution.

He spoke once more into the radio, his frustration barely masked, "Just _wait _there, GA– "

"_We don't have __time__, kid." _ The anxiousness in the other man's reply was easily discernible over the radio.

Nightwing gritted his teeth as the conversation crossed back over territory they had just covered twice, "_Make_ time. We can't rush in half cocked with this– "

"_Half cocked?! Kid, I've been doing this longer then you, I don't need you to– "_

The acrobat removed one hand from the aircraft's controls and reached up to pinch the bridge of his nose, closing his eyes briefly before he set about explaining once more why rushing into this situation all `gung-ho' was not a good idea.

"GA, we're talking about Vandal Savage, not some amateur thug. This guy can take out half the JSA on a good day. You need to wait 'till I get there, and once we've assessed the situation further we'll have to call in backup– "

_"Forget the lecture; just tell me how far away you are."_

"Ten minutes– only ten minutes, Ollie. Just wait till I get there, okay?"

_"Yeah kid. Just hurry the hell up. I`m waiting ten minutes and not a second longer."_

Sighing in frustration, the young hero turned the aircraft away from the coastline and followed a course out over the ocean. All he could do now was hope Green Arrow had enough sense to hold his position as instructed.

"...Roger that."

_To be continued..._


	2. Chapter 2

_Notes: This story is a joint effort between Gottaluvit and myself. I forgot to put that in the summary when I posted the Prologue.  
_

_**Chapter 1**_

"Where in the hell _is_ he?"

"Nightwing said E.T.A. in ten minutes, Ollie– it's only been five," Speedy reminded her anxious mentor.

Green Arrow paused his agitated pacing long enough to look down from the fringes of the jungle hilltop where they were hiding. A high fence ran around the boarder of the well-lit compound. Aside from a guardhouse at the entrance, only two other buildings were visible: an aircraft hanger housing a couple of helicopters and a large, modern complex. From the information Nightwing had provided, Ollie knew it was a combination of living quarters and an elaborate medical research facility.

The tense archer stared in silent contemplation for a long moment, "Anything could be happening down there . . . anything could have– " His words broke with concern as his thoughts began to carry him away.

It had been far too long, weeks in fact, since his son had disappeared. When all his attempts to find Roy on his own had failed, Ollie swallowed his pride and, out of desperation, called in Nightwing, knowing he'd give his all to find Roy. Having bonded over the years through the many battles they had fought together, side-by-side, the two young men were as close as brothers.

Speedy rose from her seat on the ground and reached out a hand to her mentor's shoulder. There wasn't much reassurance she could offer, they were all worried about Roy. The last accurate report Nightwing got from his informants indicated he was still alive--but that had been four days ago and she prayed it was still the case.

"You're the one who's always telling me to think positive, old man; it's time you took some of your own advice…"

Ollie snapped his head around to look at his young partner. The full moon made her clearly visible in a silvery glow. "This is Vandal Savage, Mia, and– "

"And . . . you know as well as I do that Roy isn't going to be a pushover, not even for Sav–"

A loud explosion cut off the rest of the young archer's words. Both heroes automatically dropped to the ground and crawled on their bellies to watch as two guards at the entrance of the compound ran toward the main building–-a cacophony of shouts and screams could clearly be heard coming from the facility.

Ollie pulled out a set of small night vision binoculars and focused on the building. "What the…?"

Loud animalistic screams joined the chaos of shouts and human cries, interceded occasionally by crashes and the occasional burst of gunfire. Then almost as suddenly as the chaos had started, it ended–silence fell and the lights in the entire compound went out. "Shit!"

Ollie began moving out of the jungle, keeping low as he ran through the long grass toward the complex below then paused at the sound of an aircraft engine cutting into the night's obscene stillness.

"GA!" Speedy called pointing as the helicopter rose from the hanger at the back of the building.

"Go, Go, Go!" Green Arrow shouted. He had no idea what had just occurred in the building but the knowledge that his son may have been caught up in it was enough for him to set caution aside and sprint toward compound.

The two archers neared the surrounding fence, Green Arrow firing off an arrow as he ran. The arrow exploded, tearing a hole in a section of the fence. Mentor and protégé leapt through and, running to the side of the building, they both flattened themselves against a sidewall, panting and weapons drawn as they waited for someone to come running and investigate the explosion.

After an extended wait it was obvious that either no one had heard the explosion or more immediate issues had otherwise occupied them.

"Well, they hafta know we're here, so it`s not gonna matter if we make a little more noise…" Ollie smashed through a nearby window then frowned when no alarm sounded. The power was completely out but he had been waiting for some sort of back up power source to come on at any moment; he'd created enough noise getting this far to have made his presence well and truly know.

The hairs on the back of his neck prickled, "Heads up kid, something's not right here…" he warned as they cautiously climbed inside room–glass from the broken window crackling underfoot. All senses on high alert, they crept forward, moving stealthily as both archers determinedly slowed their breathing from the fast, anxious pace it had escalated to only seconds before.

Moonlight lit the dark room, but the pale glow wasn't quite enough for them to see clearly. Speedy wrinkled her nose at the distinct metallic smell that permeated the air. Her boots squelched oddly as she walked through something wet and sticky covering the floor. She squinted in a desperate attempt for her eyes to adjust to the darkness in order to see what the dark patches on the floor were before suddenly stumbling over a dark lump silhouetted by the moonlight.

Green Arrow relaxed his hold on his bow and quickly darted his hand out to catch his partner. Once he had assured himself it was reasonably safe to do so, he pulled an arrow from his quiver and struck the tip firmly to the floor. The arrow tip exploded in light and bathed the room with an eerie green glow. It was only then that the archers were finally able to see just what they had been walking through.

"Shit!" Ollie stomach churned as he stared down at the floor. The room was littered with body parts, blood covered the majority of the area illuminated by the light from his arrow.

_"Hurck_…" Mia swallowed hard as bile surged into her throat. For one long moment both she and her mentor were stunned into inaction as the horror of what had occurred in the room slowly sunk in--a noise at the door behind them cut through their horror and both archers spun as one, coming to face the hulking figure that filled the doorway.

Green Arrow automatically tossed the glowing arrow closer to the intruder and simultaneously knocked another arrow, drawing the bowstring back and aiming automatically at the 8-foot-tall monstrous figure.

Speedy–her own bow drawn and ready–halted suddenly by something in the monster's expression…red hair…those eyes…"Ollie, wait!"

Green Arrow held his bow steady, ready to fire an arrow into the man-beast, then the horror of recognition struck him. His stomach flipped nauseatingly as his eyes wandered over the familiar--if not twisted--features of the monster's face.

"Oh, God. Roy?"

Swallowing hard, Ollie lowered his bow and took a few steps toward the beast--drawn closer by the familiarity of the creature and the need to help it. "Roy . . . what the hell've they done to you, son?"

"Ollie don't…!"

Speedy's cry of alarm came a fraction too late, for the beast growled menacingly and moved forward with a speed seemingly impossible for a creature of its size.

Too late; Ollie realized he'd let his concern for his son dictate his actions--the archer did not even have time to cry out before a huge hand closed around his neck and lifted him from the ground.

"Ollie!" Mia screamed, letting fly the arrow she had drawn and held at the ready. The beast twisted suddenly--moving the struggling older archer into the line of fire.

To Speedy's horror the arrow embedded itself deeply into Green Arrows upper back. A sickening crunch assaulted the young archer's ears and she gasped– her mentor's head lolled to the side, his body dangling lifelessly from the beast's grip.

"OLLIE!!"

_To be continued..._


	3. Chapter 3

Nightwing moved slowly through the corridor. He had already scanned the building for heat sources and had found none. Even so, it paid to be cautious. The horror he had initially found upon entering the building increased with each room he explored and a sickening dread began to form in the pit of his stomach. Silently cursing impulsive archers yet again, he cautiously walked through the doorway of the next room which appeared to be an office of some sort.

The young hero quickly assessed that the room was devoid of life before entering. He ignored the sudden turn of his stomach as his night vision lenses allowed him to clearly see a body slumped against a corner of the room. He'd seen bodies earlier on in his search and didn't have to look at this one to know it would be just as mangled and mutilated as the others.

The acrobat scanned the room then approached a desk that sat at the back of the room. Removing a tiny flashlight from his gauntlet, he switched it on, grimacing when its beam briefly shone across the remains of a woman's body laying on the other side of the room. He turned back to the desk and began to sift through papers that were scattered in disarray over the desktop and floor: medical notes, test procedures, experiment results-–he froze as he unearthed a crumpled file, the photograph on the cover so very familiar. "...Roy?"

Moving quickly, he began flipping through the file's pages. His stomach clenched in both fear and horror as he read the results of the experimental serum used on his friend. "God, Roy…they wanted to make your organs more compatible–wanted to let that sick bastard…." His words choked off and he dropped the file, suddenly realizing there was every chance that his friend was still alive–-that he could find him and help him. He just needed to find out where they had taken him.

Spurred on by both renewed hope–and fear–for his friend, Nightwing approached a nearby filing cabinet and began flipping through its files, seeking any indication of where

Savage might have taken his experiment.

After ten minutes of frantic searching the acrobat had found nothing to give him any information beyond that which he already knew: Vandal Savage's relation to Roy and the need for new organs used up by his body's ability to cheat death; Roy was a perfect blood-type match.

Slamming the bottom drawer shut, he slammed his hand against the side of the cabinet, "Damn it!"

With a growl of frustration, Nightwing spun around and quickly left the room, moving rapidly yet cautiously down the hall toward the next room. He paused at the doorway to scan the area and, just as he'd expected, the floor was littered with bodies--these even more horrifically mutilated than the others. He grimaced, moving the flashlight's beam from one sickening form to another…

"Oh, God!" His heart leapt into his throat as the light beam settled on a familiar emerald-clad figure, "_Ollie?"_

Even though he knew there was no one alive in the building–-his initial thermal-scan of the area gave back negative findings; no human life within the facility–-Nightwing couldn't help but to feel an irrational surge of hope that just maybe he had been wrong and dropped to one knee at the archer's side. The cold, lifelessness of the body crushed that last remnant of hope and left his senses reeling.

"Dammit, Ollie. Ten minutes, that's all I asked you to wait . . . just ten damn minutes," he murmured softly and then closed his eyes for a moment, gathering his senses once more before he forced himself back to his feet and back to the task at hand. Green Arrow was here–dead, nothing he could do for him–but Speedy was still out there somewhere.

It wasn't as difficult as he had first thought it might be to pick up the younger archer's trail: scattered arrows, a broken bow and even her quiver, torn off undoubtedly during a struggle, lay at random intervals farther down a corridor leading him to an exit door--destroyed and literally torn off its hinges.

Nightwing cautiously crossed the threshold and instantly saw a trail of drag marks, periodically peppered by a dark, gelatinous substance. Stooping down at one of the spatters, he scooped a droplet up and rolled it between his thumb and forefinger. Just as he had suspected, and what he had hoped it was not, the moist dirt clod instantly fell apart and stained his glove with a dark red smear.

Looking to the positive, Nightwing deducted from the spatters that were fresh enough and light enough that he was closing in on her location and, at the moment, there was a very good possibility Mia was still alive.

With renewed zeal, Nightwing lunged to his feet and quickly followed the drag marks about another fifty yards into the jungle where the trail became increasingly clearer, not just by the sight of broken bushes and crushed foliage, but by the sounds of the young woman's screams that made the acrobat's skin crawl and his gut clench.

The need for stealth at the moment was clearly overrated and Nightwing broke into a sprint down the middle of the trail. The dense jungle foliage was made only slightly easier to navigate by the occasional shaft of moonlight breaking through the canopy of trees.

He could still hear them–her anguished screams–could feel them pulling him as if they had the power to reach into his core being, drawing him closer. Faster and faster, lungs burning, the young hero pushed his body to the ultimate max until the trail of crushed plants that Nightwing was following ended and suddenly he found himself at the edge of a small clearing.

Nightwing silently willed Mia to hang on as the young woman's screams settled into weak, faintly audible sobs. The night vision lenses in the acrobat's mask picked up a cave in the rock wall ahead and there was little doubt that the sobs were coming from inside the dark hole.

Moving stealthily closer, Nightwing approached the cave when suddenly the flash of a huge fist coming his way caused the acrobat to instinctively leap into the air and flip out of reach. He spun to face his attacker, crouching instantaneously into a defensive stance ready for whatever might happen next.

Nightwing froze, every nerve in his body on edge as he waited for the hulking figure in front of him to move. The creature made no effort to attack again; it merely stood still–-quietly staring at the young hero.

"You're big…" Nightwing removed the flashlight from his gauntlet and switched it on being careful not to startle the creature by shining the light directly into its eyes. Instead, he focused the beam on the monster's chest; the light that did reflect on the creature's face was enough to cause an instant surge of recognition, "Roy?"

The animalistic howl that tore from the creature was plenty of warning for the acrobat to move out of the beast's way, "Roy! Roy, is me, Dick."

The young hero's plea for recognition went unheeded as the beast lunged again. The acrobat flipped over the punch that came his way and rolled under a second attempt to strike him.

"C'mon, buddy, there has to be some part of you that still– " He jumped back to avoid the blow from a thick branch the monster had somehow managed to grab, then spun around and launched a flying kick into the beast's hand, trying to force the creature to drop its weapon…

It wasn't often that the young hero underestimated the speed of his opponents. Perhaps the reason he did so this time was the horrifying familiarity of the beast attacking him or the underlying fear of harming this creature that, not too long ago, had been one of his closest friends.

Whichever it was, the result was the same. Nightwing felt the rush of air that signaled another blow forthcoming--white noise and heat exploded at the back of his head as that blow struck home.

A numbed, silent darkness engulfed his entire being.

_To be continued..._


	4. Chapter 4

Not thinking it at all possible, Dick began to work harder at freeing himself from the ropes that had transformed him from a brave–and at times, fierce–vigilante, into a sitting duck as he was dragged into Evil-Roy's abode, be it ever so primitive.

"Roy. Stop–-listen to me," Dick pleaded while overriding his body's decision to limit the dexterity to his fingers from the bonds that were tied much too tight. "This isn't you. I know you can hear me in there, Roy. You're stronger than this. You've got to . . . fight . . ." Dick trailed off as he was dragged past an entirely too-still Mia who had been unceremoniously heaped against a nearby wall; he snapped his attention back to his aggressor–anger burning in his gut.

"You– you go on with this– this _insanity_ and you'll let Savage win!" Dick commanded in the same tone he'd used while leading The Titans and Outsiders in various missions; working side by side with his friend–-this same friend that he had always trusted with his life without even a second's hesitation.

"Dammit, Roy. Think!" Dick snapped and then felt the slightest spark of hope when the ropes gave an inch. "What happens if you go through with this . . . do you really think Savage will be satisfied with just you? What's going to keep him from going after Lian, Roy? Did you even _think_– " the rest of Dick's statement was abruptly cut short by a closed-fist backhand across the side of his face.

Relatively sure that his cheek bone had suffered a fracture at best, Dick slowly rolled his head back to face the man he considered brother. He sucked the blood from his lip for a second with a mischievous grin, "Struck a nerve there, didn't I, big guy?"

The creature with familiar eyes glared at him and, for one fleeting moment, Dick saw a spark of recognition behind its glazed-over continence–-but then it was gone.

Ignoring the crude blade stained with dried blood his monstrous friend had picked up from the cave floor, Dick continued to strike at that very nerve-–the one thing he knew was his only chance to reach his brain-washed friend: Lian.

Anyone who even remotely knew the strong archer knew how much his daughter meant to him. Lian was his whole world and he would do anything to keep her safe.

"You know he won't stop with you _-ngh-_ he'll wait `till you're nice and ripe, harvest your organs _-mmph- _then keep . . . a close . . . eye on yu-your little girl _-naagh!-_" Dick ground out between blows from the anti-hero.

"Shut up, shut up-–SHUT UP!" The beast growled, shooting to his feet as he pressed his palms against his ears.

Having worked the bonds loose enough to allow him to sit up, Dick stifled a cry as a sharp pain seared its way throughout his abdomen, "Roy . . . Buddy, please . . . listen to me. You _know_ me. You . . . know how I adore and . . . love Lian. You know I'd . . . never lie to you–-especially about . . . your daughter," Dick panted and, not able to sit up any further, leaned on his elbow. His heart ached for his friend, hearing Roy whimper indistinguishable words to himself as he paced in a tight line back and forth across the cramped cave floor.

_`Finish it, Grayson . . . you've gotta finish it. For __both__ of them,'_ he thought and felt his stomach lurch, knowing what he had to say to bring it all home.

"He'll _-mmph-_ come for . . . her, Roy."

"Shut up."

"He's going to wait until that very last moment and he's going to take her."

"I said Shut Up! SHUT THE FUCK UP!"

"He won't care how. He won't care if he has to break every bone– "

_`...awww shit.'_ It was the only thing Dick had time to think before his one-time friend whipped around, eyes burning with fury, and took two long strides before planting a kick to the side of his head.

_"...grasp it, grasp it, grasp it . . ."_ Dick kept up his mantra, digging gloved fingers into the cave's dirt floor when the safe, comforting blackness of unconsciousness began to call out to him. He'd just got a reasonable hold at clinging onto this world before he was snatched up by the back of his suit and jerked around to face front.

_"AAAGH!"_ He cried out upon feeling something in his back snap as Evil-Roy slammed him up against the cave wall. Dick knew his time was short and dug deep to finish what he'd started.

"H-he'll . . . _-ngh-_ he, he won't care how, Speedy. De-dead . . . or _-mmph-_ alive–"

Another slam into the wall and Dick's eyes burned with emotion from the battle he knew he was inevitably going to lose, but more so, because he knew what he was trying to drill into his lost friend's mind was true.

"... she'll– he'll ca-carve her up, Roy." Dick choked on a sob as a continuous stream of tears began to flow from his lost brother's eyes. "He'll rip you're an-angle– "

"NO!" *slam*

_"-NGH!_– apart..."

*slam*

"...an-and steal . . . _-ngh-_ her or-organs."

"NO! NO,NO,NO!" *slam* "Lies!" *slam* "All Lies!"

At that last crack the back of his head took against the stony, dirt wall, Dick knew the game was over and almost didn't feel the pain when he was forced down, the insane archer's knee ramming into his gut, then slammed onto the ground. His vision swam before him and all he could do was watch as his friend raised the dirty blade high above his head . . .

**"Roy, NO!"**

Dick's brow furrowed with confusion when three green stun-arrows hit the creature square in the chest causing it to cry out in surprise and stumble backward against the wall.

Two heroes looked at each other in disbelief.

"...Ollie . . . how?"

Green Arrow knelt down, "It's not possible . . ." he muttered, pressing a cloth to a gash on Nightwing's head, " . . . jet was shot down; saw you and you–-you're _dead_ . . ."

"G.A., wh-what are you _talking_ about?" Dick asked, trying to sit up.

Ollie inhaled a breath to answer but an angry growl had both heroes turning their heads to the beast who was staggering back to its feet.

"Time to play possum, Kid," Keeping his sights locked on his former ward, Green Arrow eased Nightwing back to the ground.

Nightwing winced and blinked a few times trying to clear his vision as he watched the man he knew was dead–-thought he was dead? . . ._`No. He __is__ dead. I checked him and Ollie is most positively and undoubtedly dead– then how in the hell . . . '_ Dick thought to himself, _`Ollie said __I__ was dead– said he saw my jet . . . '_ and it was then that he was struck with a familiar sense of deja vu. The more he thought about it, more of the pieces to the puzzle began to fall into place and he wanted to kick himself for not figuring it out sooner.

Forcing himself into an upright position, Nightwing placed a hand to the cave wall to steady himself and waited for his double vision to merge back into one, "G.A., don't. Stay . . . away from it," he tried to shout as he watched the grief-stricken archer try to reach his former ward, whom he considered a son. But when the creature came within inches of slicing its mentor and father in half, Nightwing forced his mind to see what it had to and grinned when he found his body restoring back to normal. He didn't hesitate for a second.

Charging forward, Nightwing snatched an arrow from Green Arrow's quiver and threw the archer to the side as he launched himself at the beast.

Ollie watched in stunned disbelief as Nightwing drove the arrow into his son's chest over and over again. He tried to move to say something-–_anything,_ but the sight unfolding before his eyes had him frozen in place; the fierce acrobat covered in blood and grunting with exertion as he mercilessly hacked away at the creature; the sound of his ward's voice, howling and screaming while it writhed on the ground.

It was only a moment before he snapped out of his inaction–-a glob of his son's blood hit him in the face and Ollie screamed a primal yell as he barreled in, tackling Nightwing, pulling him to the ground, "What're ye doin' . . . what the **fuck** `re ye doin'?"

With no time to explain, Nightwing shoved the seething archer off and pushed past him, determined to finish off the creature when he was caught by the arm and yanked back. "Get off'a me, G.A.!" the acrobat rasped as he laid flat on his back, Ollie's forearm pressed to his windpipe.

"How could you do that? He was your teammate, your bloody friend!"

"You don't know . . . what the hell you're . . . talking about!" Dick shouted back as best as he could and, wrapping one leg between Green Arrow's, he gave a twist of his hip and flung the angry archer off him.

A glance toward the creature's still form forced a cry from Green Arrow. The shock of seeing his son's mutilated and contorted body so very still caused a knot of anguish to twist painfully in his stomach. He turned back to face Nightwing, burning anger reflected in the pain-filled green eyes that stared at the man who had caused his son's imminent death.

Tense with emotion and ready to spring, the two heroes circled each other to the dying-sounds of the familiar beast.

Ollie glared at the younger hero, tears of horror and heartbreak began to spill. "He's...you've killed him, you've..." He clenched his hands into fists, feeling anger rise up through the heady mixture of emotion.

"Ollie. Listen to me."

"You bastard! You fucking, murdering bastard!" The sound of his son choking on one final wet gasp left Ollie broken and distraught. He rushed Dick, throwing punches blindly before attempting to strangle him.

"I'm gonna kill you... gonna take you outta this world just like you took– "

Quicker than Ollie could have expected, there was a flash of blue and black and he suddenly found himself planted firmly on the ground.

"Would ya shut up for two damn seconds and listen to me," Dick shouted as he grabbed Ollie by his tunic, giving him a good shake, "It's. Not. Real, G.A.! Do you hear me? It's not fucking real!"

Overcome with grief, the archer squeezed his eyes shut; smells of the jungle... the sticky feel of his son's blood on his face flooded his senses, making each breath thick and heavy. A raw lump of pain formed in his throat and it felt as if it would close up. He shook his head vehemently, refusing to open his eyes and look once again upon the horror that awaited him. His voice was a broken whisper when he finally managed to speak. "What's the matter with you? Of course it's real... it's real and you've killed him..."

"Dammit, G.A., put your emotional attachments aside and look at the situation for what it is– look at the facts. We both saw each other dead. Both checked each other for signs of life and found none. Zero. Zilch." He gave the archer another good shake. "How's that possible– huh? Answer me that, Ollie. How is that possible?"

Taking a couple heaving breaths, Ollie opened his eyes. Nightwing was nose to nose with him but it wasn't the vigilante's look of steel determination that made him gasp, it was the wall of windows behind him. "Wha–?"

Standing up, Ollie turned around in a staggered circle, his mind reeling at his new environment and then he stopped short, wrinkling his nose at the acrobat standing before him and covered in green monster goo.

"Man, kid– " Ollie snorted, taking a step back, "... you stink."

Satisfied that Green Arrow's awareness had returned with him, Nightwing looked at the creature as he strode past. It was still moving, but was no longer a threat– and no longer

Roy._'...something else.'_ Dick thought to himself, studying the creature and noting the similarities with its counterpart.

"Mia?" Ollie said softly, kneeling down next to the blond archer who was huddled into a ball, quietly sobbing. She flinched and cried out when her mentor's hand touched her shoulder.

Startled at his protege's reaction, Green Arrow snatched his hand away and shot Nightwing a concerned look. The young hero pushed himself off the ground and walked over.

"Mia..." Dick called tenderly, taking a knee before the frightened girl. "Mia– it's Dick... can you look at me, honey?" Her only reaction was to hold onto her head and pull into herself even more. With a sigh, Dick lay down on his side, his face level with hers. He removed his gloves and reached out to gently touch her face, "It's okay, Mia– that thing, it was never Roy and Ollie is just fine. I promise. C'mon back to us now, sweetheart–-it's all over."

TBC...


	5. Chapter 5

Epilogue

Roy snatched up the phone and grinned as he recognized the number, "Ollie. Hey, old man, 'bout time you remembered I had a phone."

"Roy! Man, kid it's good to hear your voice . . . especially when it's not grunting or growling or anything . . . You sound like you. That's good, real good, I'm glad of that . . . "

Roy's grin faded to a frown as he noted the tone of his father figure's voice--animated and loud with what seemed to be a mixture of concern and genuine relief. "Ollie? What the . . . Hey, is everything okay?"

"Sure kid, everything's fine . . . now. I just wanted to see that you were all right, you know... not dead or an eight-foot-high, drooling Neanderthal or about to kill people or stuff like that."

"Ollie . . . " Roy found himself at a momentary loss for words as he tried to process that comment. "Have you been drinking?"

"Drinking?" The older archer sounded indignant. "What? I can't call and check on you from time to time without you thinking I'm drunk? I can't be concerned for my kids? I can't . . . "

Roy closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger before cutting into his mentor's rambling. "You sound like you've been drinking, is all."

"Hey! Fine. Be like that. Next time you turn into a hulking, ugly beast with murderous intentions don't come running to me 'specting me to stop your best friend from killing you!"

Silence hung in the air for a full five seconds, before Roy spoke again. "What the hell are you _talking_ about, old man?"

The older archer didn't seem to hear the question, instead, still sounding indignant and annoyed at Roy's earlier question he lapsed into typical Ollie-like rambling. "I can't believe you'd think I was drunk. You should know me better'n that, if I wanted to get drunk I'd call you and Hal up and take you two with me. No good taking Connor, he doesn't know how to unwind with a few good beers . . . or maybe he could be the DD . . . but the kid still can't drive properly, gonna hafta find the time to teach him one day, those couple of lessons you gave him weren't . . . "

The doorbell chimed, cutting into Ollie's rambling, one-sided discussion. Roy looked from the door to the phone then back at the door, before clearing his throat softly and cutting into his father's oration.

"Someone's at the door. Look. Ollie . . . are you sure you're okay? I can come to Star City if you . . . "

Ollie was silent for a long moment, as if contemplating taking his son up on the offer to visit. Finally he spoke, sounding a little deflated, purged of the concerned that had driven him to call in the first place. "Nah, it's fine, Son. Just...take care of yourself okay? Give me a call when you have more time and we'll talk some more."

"Okay, Ol . . . Take care, okay?" Roy finished the call and sighed. He had a feeling a trip to Star City would be on his agenda this weekend. "You're getting crazier as you age, old man." He muttered to himself, as he walked over to the door.

His earlier grin returned as he checked who his visitor was before opening the door to his best friend. "Dick! Hey, buddy, c'mon in."

Dick returned the grin. "I'm glad your 8-foot-tall cousin didn't answer the door." He laughed, shoving a chilled six-pack into the archer's hands as he headed inside.

"Uh . . . ?" Roy's frown returned as he watched the acrobat flop onto the sofa and make himself comfortable. "You been eating Ollie's chili or something?" he joked. "I told'ja never to eat that stuff before bedtime."

Dick smirked as he swallowed a swig of his beer, "Chili? Shit. I wish it was as simple as a pot of Ollie's gut-bustin' chili. No way, man. This was the real deal– well, not entirely real but– "

"Look, Batboy..."

Dick raised his eyebrows in amusement at his friend's tone of impatience along with the nickname Roy reserved for instances of particular annoyance, "... I'm getting one hell of a cryptic, whacked-out story and it's being delivered in bit and pieces– hell, I feel like I need a super hero version of the Divinci Code to figure it all out."

Roy snatched up a bottle, twisted off the top and drained half its contents in two long swallows. Muffling a burp with the fist of his hand, "Do me a favor," he said through a long exhale, "and start from the beginning—and, if you're going explain it the way Ollie was. . . you might wanna take it slowly."

Dick nodded and took a deep breath, "It all started about three days ago when I caught wind of an illegal arms trade coming into New York Harbor via the Hudson. During a background check on the gang running the operation, I zeroed in on the boss and found out that he had ties in not only NYC, but also Keystone City, L.A. and Star City.

"Using certain methods of persuasion, I got sources to talk and found out this shipment was due to arrive in Star City two days ago– on Thursday. I contacted GA, explained the situation and let him know I'd be operating within his city's limits and, if everything went as planned, I'd be out of his hair within forty-eight hours.

"He told me he'd caught wind of the same operation and from there we agreed to team up and get things wrapped up hopefully that night.

"So, I tell him I was in the jet and my ETA was approximately 17 minutes. He confirms and tells me he and Mia are already at the rail yard and that shipment was coming in on the number four train, scheduled to arrive at 02:30."

Empty bottle in hand, Dick got to his feet and began pacing a tight line between the couch and windows.

"Now here's where things begin to get fuzzy . . . "

He paused for a moment, tapping his ring finger on the bottle a couple times. Roy sat back, slightly amused, watching the Grayson-gears begin to turn.

"The next thing I remember is . . . I'm flying over the ocean and closing in on the West Indies." He frowned as the memories come to him. "Ollie's hollering at me over the comlink that he's found the compound and is all hot and ready to storm the place and go in after you."

Roy's eyebrows climbed toward his hairline. "Me? What…? I wasn't there, man…." His eyes narrowed in confusion. "And how the hell did'ya get from Star City to the West Indies? This doesn't make any sense."

Dick threw his friend a long-suffering look tinged with amusement. "Well now, if you'll just be quiet and listen, you might find out there's a little more of the story yet to come."

Roy shot the acrobat a quizzical look, "There'd better be."

Dick nodded, and continued with his retelling of recent events, "I tell GA to wait on me, that we can't go rushing in on this, especially when we were dealing with Vandal Savage."

Roy jolted forward in his seat. "Whoaaaa, whoa, whoa . . . Savage?" The interruption earned him a cocked eyebrow and a chiding look from his friend. "Okay, okay . . . I'm listenin'." He gave Dick a wave of his hand to continue.

"Yeah. Savage. Apparently he'd abducted you; brain washed you and performed experimental medical procedures on you to extend the longevity of your organs so he could harvest them when he needed them."

Roy wrinkled his nose at the word 'harvest' then gave Dick a weary look. "Wait . . . you said experimental procedures, what if he botched it up, my organs would be no good to him, then what would he . . ."

Dick's answer came by way of an expression teetering on the line between disgust and fury, and it was all Roy needed before he shot up.

"Nuh uh, no way--oh HELL no. Ain't no way he'd get his grubby paws on my baby girl . . . "

"Roy . . . " Dick said calmly, knowing full well that hot Harper temper was burning just as bright as the flush of red that had painted its way up Roy's neck and across his face.

"Between Ollie, Dinah, Connor . . . you, Donna--"

"Roy, take it easy--"

"Hell, the entire Titans, old school and new, would track down his demonic ass--"

"Roy!" Dick snapped and grabbed his friend by the shoulder, giving him a good shake. "Take it easy, man. You're right. If it ever got out that you'd been abducted by Vandal Lian would be immediately taken care of and wiped off the radar. If anyone can make someone disappear, it'd be Bruce-- you know that.

"Calm down before you blow a gasket." Dick coaxed the irritated archer back to the recliner he'd previously occupied, "...sit down and let me finish."

"Alright, alright," Roy muttered and waved off his friend before sitting down heavily. Elbows propped on knees he leaned forward, waiting to hear the rest.

"Where was I... oh yeah, so I get this transmission from Ollie and, strangely enough, I know exactly what he's talking about. I tell him to hold tight; do NOT go busting in and I'd be there in 10 min tops. He reluctantly agrees--barely--and we end transmission. That was the last I'd heard from him."

Dick raised a hand to still the question the archer was about to ask, and then continued, "I put the jet on autopilot, parachuted in and was at the complex in seven minutes. But, something'd already been there. The place is pitch black and a complete mess. I'm talkin', someone or some_thing_ was less than happy and tore, the place up."

Dick shook his head incredulously as he remembered the destruction, "Doors were torn off hinges, computers flung across rooms--a few broken monitors still flickering--structure wires were down, furniture over turned and then," Dick looked at his empty beer bottle, scowled, then set it on an end table, "there were the bodies."

Roy raised his eyebrows, "Bodies?"

"Yeah," Dick answered with a deep exhale. "It was pretty disturbing. We've come across a lot in our days working together--but this..." He trailed off for a moment then gave himself a mental shake to halt the flashbacks of what he'd seen.

"S'okay, Bro," Roy interjected, seeing a ghost of conflicted unease pass over his friend, "I can imagine; go on."

Dick cleared his throat sat on the arm of the couch, "I knew Ollie'd already gone in because neither he nor Mia were answering my transmissions--that and the fact that an entire exterior wall was blown to bits by what appeared to be explosive, green arrows."

"Ha. That's my old man, he's not gonna wait around and twiddle his thumbs if there's some action to be had." Roy grinned fondly.

Dick's expression became solemn, "Right. Action to be had, or maybe, fear for his son's life."

Roy's amused expression gave way to one of contemplation as his former mentor's seemingly incoherent rambling began to make perfect sense.

"So, I move through a couple more rooms and that's when I found GA. But, man, Roy..." Pushing himself off the arm of the couch, he took a couple steps, running both hands through his raven locks, before turning once more to face his friend.

"I saw him, ya know? It was Ollie and he was... dead."

Roy's eyes widened at that, and his posture became tense and rigid. "Dead?...Ollie? What the fuck, man?" He swallowed hard, and then shook off the horror, reminding himself that he had not long ago spoken with his mentor.

"Yeah. He was dead--and Mia… Mia was missing. I followed a trail of Speedy's arrows, gear and, finally, her quiver I find just outside a pair of sixteen-inch-thick steel doors, that just so happened to have been ripped clear off their hinges. Following obvious drag marks, I was about five minutes down a path of crushed foliage through the jungle when I heard her first scream--"

"Her?"

Dick pressed a hand to his forehead upon being interrupted, yet once again, and reminded himself of his good friend's lack of patience.

"..._her_ as in Mia? And, what do you mean her 'first' scream?"

Ignoring the brief interrogation, Dick continued, "I put it into high gear and book it down the path and about four minutes later, I get to a clearing and out of nowhere you appear--but it's not you." Dick turned haunted blue eyes toward his friend, studying the redhead intensely as he spoke. "It was like an eight-foot-tall-rabies-infested-Neanderthal-on-crack version of you. I try to talk to you, but, you don't recognize me and knock me out with some sort of blunt object."

Roy's mouth gaped open for a moment. "Shit."

"I wake up and I'm practically hogtied and being dragged into this cave; Mia's slumped against a far wall, not moving and looks like she might even be dead." Dick raised his tone just slightly as he spoke making sure the confused and rattled archer's open mouth didn't have a chance to run him over again.

I try to talk some sense into you--to reach the 'you' in that beast but the best that got me was beaten to a pulp, to the point where I couldn't even move and I could only watch as you stand over me with a huge stone hoisted over your head."

"Shit, man, that can't be real--no WAY could that be real... Gargoyle? Was it Gargoyle again?" Roy asked and handed Dick another beer after cracking open his second.

Looking at the offered bottle for a moment, Dick accepted and twisted off his cap while shaking his head. "No. Not Gargoyle but I'll lay you odds they're related somehow."

"Heh. Yeah... like his long distant, half-nephew."

"Twice removed," Dick added, saluting with his beer. "Anyhow, there you are, massive stone raised above your head and about to smash my skull in when I hear Ollie yell for you to stop and three green stun-arrows hit you in the chest and you stagger backward."

Ducking his head with a burp, Dick scoots forward to sit on the edge of the couch with peaked interest, "Ollie looks at me and--get this... he looks at me and says, 'It's not possible. You're dead.'

"What the… so he wasn't dead? " Roy frowned in confusion. "Of course he wasn't dead, I just spoke to him." He mumbled to himself. "I…okay, whatever–cut to the chase man, what the hell went down?"

"Well, Ollie said he saw my jet crash, found me and I was dead. He and Mia go into the compound, find you... he gets knocked out and when he comes to, Mia's gone. So GA follows the same equipment trail then drag marks I followed which led him to the cave."

"Alternative Reality!" Roy said with excitement, thrusting a finger at his best friend, "So it was Gargoyle."

Dick shook his head adamantly, "No. Not exactly but it definitely shared certain key qualities--including the ability to tap into one's memories and thoughts and use those to weave a false, yet incredibly compelling, reality."

"You get finished off in its reality, and you get finished off in real life."

"Precisely."

"Okay," Roy sighed deeply, "So..."

"So. Ollie's trying to reason with the... Not-you, and before it has a chance to take him out, I rush forward, snatch an arrow from Ollie's quiver, tackle the beast to the ground and begin hacking away at it like there's no tomorrow."

"You... began 'hacking' away at it?" Roy asked, raising his eyebrows in disbelief.

"Well, I knew I had to do something drastic...so I killed it...or I thought I did, but turns out it had the ability to rejuvenate rapidly..."

"You... tried to kill it?"

"Yeah, I had to."

"But. You said it looked like me."

"Right."

"...that up until the very end you thought is was me."

"Well, yeah."

"... and you tried to kill it... just like that?"

"Yep. Just like that." Dick answered and got to his feet. "Hey, do you have some pretzels or something?" He said and walked off toward the kitchen.

Roy stayed seated, head cocked to the side, as he processed what he just heard. Still frowning and just a bit disturbed, he followed his seemingly-innocent best friend into his kitchen "... Did you hesitate, like for just a sec... it looking like me and all--Doritos, Bro."

"Nope." Dick caught the bag of ranch-flavored corn chips and proceeded to dig in.

Roy thought about that for one long moment, and then pouted. "I would have hesitated if I had to take out some creature that looked like you."

Dick took in the wounded, little-boy look that his friend had focused on him and swallowed his mouthful, grinning, "Aw c'mon, big guy," he said and slung an arm around the pouting redhead, "You wouldn't have second guessed it either. I mean, c'mon, were you or were you _not_ the one who rescued us all from our last run in with Gargoyle?"

"Well... yeah, but--"

"Ennt--" Dick interrupted, "No 'yeah buts'. It's easy to say what you'd feel or do in hindsight. But, you know when you're out there, on the battlefield, sometimes you don't have time to think and you run on pure gut instinct alone. Don't sweat it, Bro." Dick said and clasped his friend on the shoulder, "You'd have done the same."

Roy thought about it for a second, and then his mouth quirked up into a half grin, "I did so totally save your asses last time."

"Yep. That you did." Dick answered, snatching up the bag of Doritos and headed back to the living room with a grin of his own knowing the nightmare was over and they could get back to the rest of their unordinary lives--well, until the next time, that is.

The End


End file.
